A Kikuyu Dowry

I'm a big fan of cultural immersion.  The idea is that when you go to a place, you actually experience that place. I know that there's really nothing I can do to stem the tide of globalization, but a pet peeve of mine is when Americans travel abroad and seek out American experiences. I really like McDonalds, I do, but if you are traveling in a new place, why would take one of your limited meal slots and give it to old Ronald McMakeYouFat? Granted, there isn't even a McDonalds in all of Kenya, but my point remains. When I am traveling, I like to experience life like the people who live there do. 

So, I felt pretty lucky to be invited to a Kikuyu dowry ceremony by a co-worker of mine. The Kikuyu are the largest ethnic group or tribe in Kenya, with some 6.6 million Kikuyus, about 23% of the total population here. They come from the central part of the country, centered around Mt. Kenya. Many of my co-workers are Kikuyu. The practice of dowry or the bride price is common throughout all the tribes of Kenya. A man can be expected to pay the equivalent of approximately five years of his projected salary to the family of his fiancé in order for the marriage to be culturally legitimate. However, the practice is a hot topic of debate among Kenyan young adults (20s/30s). Some see the practice as a part of Kenyan tradition, which honors the in-laws for raising a good wife. Others see the practice as an out-dated reflection of a male-dominated past, where women were considered property and daughters were traded for cows, goats and other items. In the few short conversations I've had on the subject, I found that the problem can be daunting for many young Kenyans preparing for marriage. The rising costs of education, plus inflation, make some dowry demands unreasonably burdensome on a man. Some men, for many reasons, would rather not pay the dowry, but they risk a life time of ostracization from their in-laws who may not recognize the marriage as valid. This is important because marriage law in Kenya recognizes cultural practices as part of the question of legal marriage. I'm not nearly an expert in Kenyan marriage law, so don't take this as legal advice, but because there are so many different tribes and ethnic groups in Kenya, the law allows for cultural considerations in the question of what is or is not a recognized marriage. 

Anyway, as with many other things, Kenyans specifically and Africans generally, are coming across many points of life where tradition and modernization clash. As an outsider, it's interesting to see this process first hand, although it's hard not to have an opinion, even a strong one, about some of the stuff. But, as always, it's important to be weary of cultural superiority complexes. Heck, more and more, Westerners are losing all of the moral high ground when it comes to marriage. Cultural relativity is a slough of confusion. 

So, here are the photos from the ceremony. I'll do my best to share the story, but since it was almost exclusively in Gĩkũyũ, I may be missing parts. Enjoy. 

This is my co-worker Samuel Karanja. Sam is not the one who is getting married. In fact, Samuel and his brothers are finishing off the payment of his father's dowry for Sam's mother. His father passed away before the final payments of the dowry were complete so Sam needs to finish his father's payment. Normally, I would be like, "Why would you pay for your dad's dowry?" But he explained to me that, culturally, he cannot marry until his father's dowry is complete. Now I see why he is so motivated to finish this thing.

Sam brought us to his family home in the rural part of Kenya which Kenyans refer to as "Up Country." Up Country can be anywhere in Kenya, and you use to phrase to indicate you are going home to see your family. Although Nairobi has 3.2 million inhabitants, most Kenyans do not refer to themselves as "from Nairobi." You are almost always from where your family is. Even if you were born in Nairobi and lived there your whole life, you would still go Up Country to visit home. 

Here's a look at Karanja's land. Oh, so for Kenyan males, after they reach adulthood, it is common for them to take on their father's name. So I switch from referring to Samuel between Sam and Karanja. 

Sam points out the limits of his family farm. He wonders if he will ever farm the land himself. He says he's not cut out for it, and will likely rent the land out to local farmers. Besides, as Sam tells me that in his culture, "Farming is women's work." 

Some local boys have that classic, "What is that mzungu doing here" look on their face. I'm pretty sure these boys don't get too many white folks out in these parts.  

Karanja is one of the most pleasant people I've ever met. He is warm, always smiling, confident, has a sharp legal mind, and pours himself into the work. He's a great guy. 

We pause for a group shot in one of his avocado trees. Unfortunately, it's not avocado season yet here. 

So this is like a rural village hub. The people own and live on farms in the surrounding area. They come here to buy and sell basic goods. There's a butcher, general stores, various tradesman, a few bars, and a church. 

Here's some of Karanja's family members. His mother is in the yellow jacket. 

Here's Sam's younger brother helping out to get the dowry ready. The father's family will stage the dowry on one side of the village, and all the women in the extended family will carry it to the home of the mother's family. Only the women can carry the items. I asked if there was anything I could do to help, but was told emphatically that it was the women's job to carry the dowry. Which was confusing, because Sam's younger brother was doing stuff. Then again, for males, birth order is a big deal here too, so maybe that has something to do with it. 

Here some of Karnaja's female relatives prepare a bundle of bananas to be carried. 

More staging. 

Here's a little less than half of the stuff for the dowry. How it was explained to me is that the female's family makes a list of all the things they want. On this list will be standard stuff, a bull, goats, or cash, but also, they will get into some pretty detailed stuff as well. They will ask for candles, pots and pans, soda, beer, homemade liquor, flour, sugar cane, and other items which hold a more symbolic meaning. When I was listening to this explanation, it was like the men only heard how much money they were spending, and the women saw the more nuanced details of the requests and the meaning behind them. The two families will negotiate on the list until they come to a mutual understanding of a fair price. The price, however, is based on the wealth of the man's family (and to a certain extent, the woman's too). 

More of the dowry. Again, this was just the final payment of the dowry for Karanja's mother. Often times the male will have to split the dowry up into several payments. This particular payment was the last one owed to Karanja's maternal relatives. I'll get into the finality of the dowry ceremony and it's impact on a woman later, but this part I found a bit confusing. I've heard conflicting accounts, perhaps from variations of practices between different tribes, but some Kenyan men tell me that these payments can go on and on and on. Other's say they are completed within the first few years of marriage. I guess it depends on the financial means of the husband and the demands of the maternal family. 

Here's a shot in the small village center where we gathered. 

Loading up for the walk from the staging area to the maternal family home. 

The women from Karanja's paternal family walk to his mother's home with the first part of the dowry payment. 

Caught some Africa Magic while we were waiting for the dowry to be staged. Africa Magic is a channel that plays African soap operas. They are usually set in "the bush" and are really popular. Well, I guess soap operas are popular everywhere. People must love cheesy romantic dramas that they can get all wrapped up in. 

One of Karanja's relatives sweats under the load of the dowry. 

After the first half was carried away, one of Karanja's uncles directs the women to get ready to carry the other half. 

We are now on the way with the second half and will begin the actual ceremony once we arrive at the maternal family's home. 

Two of my female-coworkers (and their friend) gave a helping hand to carry some sugar cane poles. It is common for people to invite their co-workers and other close friends to come with them to ceremonies like this. Kenyans put a high value on the relationship with co-workers. One of my colleagues explained to me that after you have worked with someone for two or more years, they become like your family. You will invite them to your family home for all kinds of things, and you are expected to go.   

This video explains part of the signing ceremony. 

Here the maternal family tells the paternal family that they cannot come in until the have brought the things that they requested. They sing about all the things they want them to bring. 

Karanja's father was a polygamist. Polygamy is still relatively common in Kenya. There are an estimated 2.5 million spouses in polygamous unions. When you start factoring in children, there are about 5.4 million Kenyans who come from polygamous households. Factor in in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives, and you have more than half of Kenya's 40 million citizens some how connected to the tradition. Here, Karanja's 'younger mother', the third wife of his father, knocks on the door announcing the arrival of the dowry party and requesting to be allowed in. She gives the maternal family a checklist/inventory of all the things they have brought with them. 

The maternal family women examine the list and after several minutes they will let the other women in. During this time you have the women from both families singing, and several people honking car horns. It was quite the scene.  

Having satisfied the maternal family that everything they asked for is there, the women open the door and the two families join for a meal, a ceremony, and a celebration. 

The maternal family stages the dowry. 

The first part of the ceremony is a traditional Kikuyu meal. Kikuyu food is composed mainly of starches and vegetables. Nearly all the dishes are mashed up combinations of potatoes, beans, and other starches. The vegetables are usually cooked as stews. This is all taken in with a flat bread called chapati, which is common and very popular all over Kenya. One of my Kikuyu co-workers told me that his people are not known for their ability to cook, that's why all their dishes are just mashed up combinations of stuff. 

Obviously, I was the only white person there. My presence was definitely not unnoticed. As I was eating, an elderly Kikuyu woman from the maternal family kept leaning over and speaking to me in Gĩkũyũ. As my co-workers translated, I came to find out that it was the first time this woman had ever seen a mzungu eat before. She said that seeing me there would add additional years to her life. It's hard to be humble when your very presence adds years of life to people.....ha.  She was really excited about me being there and kept telling me how welcome I was. In fact, all throughout the day, I was really blessed by how welcoming everyone was. It was a great experience to be allowed into an intimate family ceremony and to be welcomed so thoroughly 

Nearly 80% of Kenyans are Christian. They have no qualms about public displays of religion. In fact they are all very much open to the idea of beginning events with prayer and worship music. Here, after the meal, the first item on the agenda is a word from the pastor, who gives a sermon and a bible reading. It was in Gĩkũyũ, so I don't know exactly what the topic was. I'm guessing it had something to do with marriage. 

Preaching. 

Here are the wives of Karanja's father. Karanja's mother is the second wife and is standing in the middle. 

Karanja is joined by his brothers and sisters for introductions. 

Because his father had passed, Karanja's uncle (left) stands in for the ceremony. The Kikuyu use the shoulder and attached leg of a cow to symbolize the process of detachment from the maternal family and joining into the family of the husband. 

The wife will cut the meat around the leg and shoulder to symbolize her removal from the home of her father and mother. 

The husband will complete the cutting and tear the leg from the shoulder. 

A female Kikuyu co-worker of mine explained that the symbol of the leg bone has very literal connotation for the relationship of the wife to her birth family. Once the dowry is complete, she is cut off from her birth family and is now, 100% a part of her husband's family. Of course this plays out along a spectrum depending on how traditional a Kenyan family is. My co-worker told me of dowry ceremonies where female relatives of the wife were sobbing because they would never see the wife again, and that for the women, dowry ceremonies aren't very happy occasions. As with all traditions, the rapid development of Kenya is changing how these traditions play out in actual practice. It will be interesting to see how they hold up against the rising tide of globalization/modernization.  

After the meat cutting part of the ceremony, there was this series of mutual porridge feeding ceremonies. I found it very similar to when a husband and bride feed each other wedding cake at the reception. 

Karanja's uncle made his mother work for her chance to feed him. The whole crowd laughed as he insisted she remove his hat, and then his coat, before he was ready to drink. 

She then fed him the porridge and I was just waiting for her to give him too much and spill it on his face, ala a bride jamming some cake in her husband's face. I don't know if this ever happens, but the lighthearted air around this part of the ceremony led me to believe it was a possibility. 

I guess the key is to drink the whole cup of porridge without stopping. 

After Karanja's mother and uncle finished this part of the ceremony, many other family members partook in the same porridge sharing thing, although no one gave their partner a face full of porridge like I was expecting. Maybe I was reading American wedding custom into the whole thing a bit too much. 

With all the symbolic parts of the ceremony over, the cow that provided the shoulder and arm was promptly distributed and devoured by the guests. I was tricked into eating a bit of intestine, I did not find that part pleasant. If there's one thing I don't do, it's organ meat. 

Having to get back to Nairobi before it got too late, we departed under a near full moon. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the ceremony and a day spent learning more about the culture and customs of some of my colleagues. It was really interesting to there the debate on the topic of dowry from among them. It seems that the younger generations of Kenyans are not too pleased with this tradition. Many see it as demeaning to women, equalizing them with property and cutting them off from their own blood relatives. Other's see it as an important part of tradition and cultural identity. Ironically, Sam, who felt it very important to fulfill his father's obligation, does not wish to pay a dowry when the time comes for him to marry. He finds the practice out dated and out of touch with modern notions of gender equality. But tradition is strong, and the pressure on young Kenyans to honor their family and their history is nothing to be pooh-poohed. Sam said he couldn't imagine not assisting his brothers to pay his father's dowry. Still paying for college and establishing his own career, the expense had to be significant to him. Yet, honor and respect are highly valued in Kenyan families, and while Sam may not personally approve of the practice, it was important for him to respect his family and honor his father's good name. 

Safari Time!

The Maasai Mara (sometimes spelled Masai) is about 200km or 125 miles from Nairobi, located to the south west on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. You may have heard of the famous Serengeti. The Maasai Mara is the exact same ecosystem, but it's in Kenya, and it's called the Maasai Mara.  Mara is a Maa (the language of the Maasai) word for "spotted,"  a good description of the sparse, yet beautiful, landscape. 

So we set out on our way, and once we got out past Niavasha road, deeper into Maasai territory, the landscape took on the classic look of the African savannah. 

Here, a Maasai man rests under a tree.  

Once we got of the highway from Nairobi to Naivasha, we were off road for several hours,  driving (at outrageous speeds) on roads that looked like this. It was like getting a three-hour, deep body massage. Bonus.  

Eventually we arrived to the spot. Here, if you look closely, you can see a couple thousand wildebeests dot the landscape. We arrived in the middle of the great migration, a time when the more than 2 Million-strong wildebeest heard passes from the Serengeti up into Kenya during the annual move. There's much more about wildebeests below. 

The road leading up to our campsite. 

A classic Maasai housing structure. I don't know if this is a house or just a place for the animals or shepherds, but you can see the bush fence which keeps out all the wildlife. In these hills are all the animals you can find in the Mara itself. We drove through a herd of zebra and giraffes on our way up. 

If you ever find yourself on a safari in the Mara, go with Mara Siria outfitters. The camp's location is breathtaking; the staff was warm, friendly, and super courteous; the price was very, very reasonable; and did I mention the view is breathtaking?

Welcome to Mara Siria bush camp, here's our view of the Mara. 

Hello.  

In the foreground is the Mara rive. The Mara itself stretches back from where I'm standing some 30-40 miles or so to the border of Tanzania. The park itself is 583 square miles.

Did I mention the view? 

Here's the Mara spread out before us as we enter on our first safari run. 

We staid on the north side of the Mara, near the Oloololo Gate. 

These guys are ready to live out their Lion King fantasies.  

There are zebras everywhere. They are like, BFFs with the wildebeests. Some of the zebras are locals, but many travel with the migration. 

Wildebeests are not the smartest animals God ever made. In fact, they are noted for their relative stupidity. The zebras know this. They travel with the wildebeests, pretending to be their friends, when in fact they are thinking to themselves, "Man, those wildebeests are stupid, if we travel with them, a lion is much more likely to eat one of them than one of us." 

There are more than 2 million of these guys here. Their life is one of constant movement. They travel all year round, heading from Kenya to Tanzania and back. Our guide kept telling us how stupid they are, and they do look stupid. Research suggests they aren't as stupid as we think they are.

Here's a look at the Wildebeest migration pattern. Keep in mind the Serengeti is 12, 000 square miles or  1,500 square miles larger than the state of Maryland. These guys move all year, every year, their whole life. They follow the rains, and research suggests they follow certain grasses which have different nitrogen or phosphorus contents to match various needs (i.e., they need more phosphorus when they are nursing young). 

Maybe I was a bit hard on the zebras. While they do take advantage of the fact that crocodiles love the taste of wildebeests, and that when a big cat is chasing a wildebeest for more than five minuets, the wildebeest will forget that it's being chased....the zebra is probably a pretty good friend to the herd. I mean, shared hardship builds friendship, so maybe the zebra/wildebeest relationship is like Perfect Strangers, and the wildebeests are Balki. 

So here's one of the many safari trucks that ferries tourists around the Mara. More on the whole safari process below. 

Here's a water buffalo basking in the sun. These are actually one of the most dangerous animals for humans to come across in Kenya. They will charge you if they get scared, and you will not out run them. As he basks in the sun, I can't help but read his mind... "Feels good man." 

More of the heard, with their zebra BFFs in the back.  

Here's a Topi. They are pretty big deer like animals. 

Wikipedia describes them as "highly social." We just drove past them all day long.....ah the catch 22 of the modern safari. You get to see amazing things, but you do so from a vehicle...just driving by advanced animal social systems, staring for a few minuets, and then tearing off because word of leopard a few kliks away just came over the radio.

Our first elephant sighting! Everybody loves elephants, what more can I say? 

Ahhhh, a real treat about to unfold. Here, a male lion looks over at a female and cooly says, "Hey, how you doin?"

She's hooked and very interested in this cool cat.

She performs a rare and unusual display of flexibility and interest. 

Prepares herself mentally. 

Saunters over seductively. 

Awww yea...bow-chicka-wow wow.  

Close your eyes kids...

Can we look yet? NO!!!!

Annnnnnnnd, I love you.  

Who's your daddy? 

Like a boss....

What a life for the King of the Jungle Savannah.

The constant backdrop of thousands and thousands of wildebeests. As we drove around, looking for "the Big Five" (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo (but no one really cares about buffalo)), you have this amazingly large wildebeest herd everywhere. It becomes a constant fixture in the park. 

The wildebeest is also called the "Gnu"...pronounced genew...which is supposed to mimic the noise they are constantly making. You can hear their symphony below.

I'm kinda bummed out I didn't get a better or more pictures of these warthogs. They were everywhere, so it's one of things where you are like, oh yeah, I'll get that later....and then you realize you forgot to get it. They kneel down like this when they are eating whatever it is they eat out of the ground. They also run around with their little tail sticking straight up in the air. Without telling a single joke, I found them to be very funny. 

More of the herd. Hear them below.

I wish I had some better microphone recording equipment. But here you can hear the gnu of the gnu. 

Here's our faithful steed. We whipped around in this thing for three days. It may look like a fam-van but it's actually a beast of a 4x4. 

Manning my post...on the look out for wildebeest....oh, there's one. And another. And another. And 2.2 million others. 

Everywhere you look, everywhere...millions of beests. 

We would drive through their herds as they milled about. They like to hang out in the road, but you just let them know you aint stopping, and they get right out of the way. Zebras too. 

One of the few shots I managed of a baby elephant. The moms always hide the babies when the safari truck rolls up. I don't blame them.  

Look at him. Millions of them. GNU!!!! (an egret hitches a ride in the background) 

You can't ride them, you can't eat them, you can't really make stuff out of them. They pretty much only exist as God's personal lawnmowers/fertilizers of the Serengeti/Maasai Mara. Also as crocodile bate, lion food, leopard chow, and vulture's delight when they die in the river. 

In the very few moments where we actually got to contemplate the nature in silence (again the nature of the modern safari does not lend itself to quite contemplation).....you look out at innumerable herd and think, listening to their constant gnus, and wonder in awe at the interconnectedness of nature and of complex ecosystems. These stupid animals, pretty much useless to humans, basically support an entire ecosystem simply by walking through it every year. The predators they feed, the scavengers they feed, the grass they trim and fertilize.....an entire network of life, perfectly balanced and self sustaining. You may think this just happened, to me it screams intelligent design. 

A view as we cruise through a herd. 

Although officially a member of "the Big Five," I get the feeling that not too many people are flying across the world to see this guy. I mean they are impressive, but it's usually like this, "Oh, look a buffalo...wow, I heard they are dangerous....yup....oh look that warthog has a funny tail..." At least that bird likes him. 

Personally, I really dig the giraffes. I long to create the perfect giraffe saddle, and then go through one of those long video montages where I break and train the giraffe in an almost spiritual experience where I bond with his animal essence. And then I ride my giraffe through the Savannah...man, that would be AWESOME!

The giraffes here, surprisingly, are called Maasai giraffes. Notice their unique markings. The other kind of giraffe has smooth lined shapes on their pattern. 

I called him Geoffrey. He didn't respond.  

Here's some vultures in a tree. Of course, just like some sinister scene from a Disney movie, they are chilling in the dead tree. They got all these other living trees to choose, but they choose the dead tree. What can I say, they eat dead animals... 

Here we met a pretty shy elephant male, who appeared to be separated from a group. They don't usually travel alone. He had tusk issues too. 

Don't ask him about the tusk...it's a long story. 

I hope he's not as sad as he looks. 

I wish I knew what he was thinking. All the elephants would be like, on the move, going from someplace to some other place with their family, and we roll up, and they would stop doing whatever it is they were doing. They would just stand there, doing nothing, and wait for us to leave. I have a feeling they like the modern safari industry as much as I do. 

So, more hippos, but this time, they are out of the water. These guys were enjoying some sun before their afternoon session of killing local fishermen. Hippos.  

I swear this one was particularly perturbed  by my presence. His mind is sure to be filled with thoughts of murder...hippos. 

These hippos are lazy...too tired from terrorizing local fishermen. 

Apparently hippos are very sensitive to sun burn, so they stay in the water all day. Bro, you need to reapply every hour. I wonder if hippos pay as much for sunscreen as us mzungus. 

So, we didn't see a leopard, but we came across mama cheetah and her cub in mid meal.

Mmmmmmmm, baby gazelle. 

But danger lurks, she might have her kill stolen. 

Mom's on the look out. Something is out there ready to steal her kill.

By none less than the KING. But we are on the move again...driving away from yet another one of the countless wilderness dramas that plays out each day in the Mara. I feel like David Attenborough. 

I feel like this guy is saying, leave us alone...

What can you say about elephants. They are just so cool. 

Again mama hides her baby. 

Although ma tried her best, if you look, you can see the baby wave good bye as we tear off in our safari van. 

We are tearing off to get to this river, the Mara river, because there are reports that the wildebeests are about to cross. You may have seen this before on NatGeo or the BBC. This is the famous river crossing where wildebeests jump in the river only to be eaten by a crocodile. Actually, more wildebeests die because they break a leg, or are trampled by other beests, or because they are too exhausted to make the climb out of the river. Here you can see, maybe 20-30 bodies floating in the river. The ones who didn't make it.

The carrion birds have a literal feast here. In the background a satisfied crocodile swims down the river. 

A closer look at the river scene with the birds feasting on the ones who failed to cross. You can see the beests cuing up in the background. 

The birds gather, awaiting a fresh batch of failed river crossers. The beests will cue like this, sometimes for many hours or a whole day until one brave gnu heads out to ford the river. 

This may look like a natural scene, but just to the right of that crossing, about 200 meters back, is this. Dozens and dozens of tourists with their safari vans. People will literally wait all day for a chance to view a crossing. To me, I see it as yet another disillusiment with travel and tourism. The kind of thing Don DeLilo writes about. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love to travel, and I am a tourist. But this whole safari experience was like this surreal detachment from nature, even though the whole thing was about nature. Nothing but rich Westerners in supped up 4x4s, tearing through the park looking for animals so they can take pictures of them and put them on their blog...

But I digress. The cue is long enough, the wildebeests (with their eager crowd of humans and meat eaters) are ready to risk their life to cross the river.  

Such an epic event. They cross this river twice a year, spending only a few months on the one side before going back over. We didn't see any of the high level drama of a BBC special. No, the crocs had already eaten their fill by this point. Just a bunch of terrified looking wildebeests jumping frantically in to swim across.  

We were pretty sure the whole troop made it across without a single casualty. It was a good day for the beests. 

Wildebeests live about 20 years. That means a full life will include about 40 crossings. 

I was thinking about the collective wisdom in the herd. I'm not exactly sure, but I was imagining that even the oldest beests in the herd have spent their whole life in the modern age of industrial tourism (Big Tourism). Their whole life, they cue up at this river, an event where so many things can go wrong and they could die a painful death, and lining the sides of the river are humans in huge trucks, staring at them with binoculars and expensive cameras. I wonder if gnus have existential crises. 

Come at me bro!

Here's a clip of a bunch of different carrion eaters going to town on who knows what (probably a gnu). I find it to be one of the most awful sounds I've ever heard. Being picked to death by birds pretty much tops my list of worst ways to die. 

But for all those hideous scavenger birds...true beauty can be still be found. 

A truly amazing specimen. I wish I knew its name. I like to think it's called a Rainbow Bird. 

A Rainbow Bird in flight. 

Oh, what's that popping its head up? Tough to spot at 50km an hour, but I have hawk eyes!

A hyena pup!

Yes, come out little guy...I've got left over chicken from lunch.

Soooo much cuter than their full grown counterparts. 

Hey bro...smile and laugh for us! 

Feels good man.  

These two again.....get a room. Don't know if it's the same pair but they were chilling at a spot not terrible far from where we saw them the first day. 

Hey mister lion, er, I mean Your Highness...I want to take your picture. Sit still. Naw, you got a dumb look on your face. Let me take another.  

Nope, you still look kinda retarded. 

How about the Mrs? Nope, you look dumb too. 

Closer, but the whole mouth open thing makes you look a bit silly. 

Derrrrrrr, if I only had an air conditioner. 

I could say that he let out an epic roar, but no, Simba was just yawning.  

These little mongoose dudes where pretty funny. Super vigilant. Like a Marine Corps fire team, they take turns popping up to cover each other as the group moved. Shoot, move and communicate!

Back to camp after our second day out in the Mara. I can't get over how amazing the view was. I mean, seriously, did I mention that Mara Siria has the best view possible? Call it Pride Rock. 

Here's me in the plunge pool after a long run. Seriously, this view....I'm telling you. 

On our last day, I woke up early to catch a sunrise over the Mara. 

Shooting a sunrise without a tripod is a bit challenging but also a lot of fun. 

Good morning Kenya!

This might be, like, the most African picture I've ever taken. Maasai herdsman, giraffes, zebras, even an elephant in the back. All that's missing is a woman carrying something extremely large and heavy on her head....and some other stereotypes I can't think of right now. 

You drive through these herds all day. Nothing but thousands and thousands of wildebeests.  

Here's one of the nicer roads in the Mara....and free from gnus! 

On our last day we left the park by driving from the north gate to the south (about 80km) and then from there back to Nairobi. When you get away from the Mara river, the landscape transforms to this sparce, but hauntingly beautiful place. The rolling hills make you feel like just over that next hill, there will be absolutely nothing...like you've arrived at the edge of the world. 

This was the more typical path through the park. 

A van similar to ours tearing through the savannah. 

Oh, look who it is...about 20kms from where we first saw them. Here's mama cheetah and her cub.

I wonder how it worked out with the lion. She seems much more relaxed now, so I am going to go ahead and assume here and baby cub were able to eat their fill of gazelle.  

La Dolce Vita.  

A classic landscape. 

Some more Topis. See, again, I could tell you these two were locked in a battle of epic proportion...winner takes control of the harem and the territory. But no, they were rolling around in the dirt, scratching themselves with their horns. Nature.... 

Another cheetah sighting. A bit far off, but wait, there's more. 

Turns out to be a three-cheetah hunting party. Good luck boys!

Another of my personal faves...The Black Backed Jackal....here put on this bandit hat.  

He's licking his lips and ready to find some left overs.  

More classic landscapes at the edge of the Earth. 

We've nearly come to the end of our trip through the Mara, just like the wildebeests, we have to cross over the Mara river once more.  

ORLY?

I do what I want....oh, there's like fifteen hippos just over there, my bad. 

Just a hippo waiting for a fishing boat to come by so that it can exact its murderous blood-lust.  Hungry, hungry hippos indeed. 

So we actually got to cross the border in to Tanzania, so that was cool. I know feel solidarity with illegal immigrants everywhere. 

Here's Tanzania. As this picture demonstrates, the Serengeti is much, much different than the Masai Mara.  

Happy Safari Campers!